Activists Complain Armory Development ‘Too White’

from the Patch:

A plan to redevelop the historic, city-owned Bedford-Union Armory into a rec center, office building and apartment complex would only accelerate “the whitening of Crown Heights,” a local activist group said in a scathing new report on the plan.

The report, drawn up by researchers with New York Communities for Change, compares rent and sale prices at the Armory’s planned apartments and condos — more than half of which would be market-rate — with income statistics in the area.

Their conclusion? The Armory, as envisioned, would end up bringing more wealthy white people to the neighborhood — while driving more low-income minorities out.

“It’s clear that this project is not after delivering any meaningful benefit to the community,” NYCC Research Director Cea Weaver, who wrote the report, told Patch. “The housing that is being built, whether they call it affordable or not, is not actually affordable.”

“The people who face a housing crisis are overwhelmingly low-income people of color,” Weaver said. “This project won’t serve them.”

16 Comments

1.Yossi A. wrote:

2.Alternative Headlines wrote:

The affordable housing being built would only accelerate the ‘blackening of Crown Heights’!
Amazing how we can talk down White people; white privilege etc. Talk about low income as though it’s exclusive to black people! Racism much?? (Nah, we’re talking about white people! It’s only racism to say a community is too black!!)

3.Milhouse wrote:

This is outright racism. Why is it a bad thing for Crown Heights to get whiter? Do these activists ever ask what “meaningful benefit to the community” resulted from all the black people moving there 40-50 years ago, driving out white people with crime and financial ruin? They’re just fine with that, but somehow reversing the process is wrong.

4.shlomo wrote:

5.Really wrote:

It has nothing to do with color. There are plenty of low income people who are white too. The plan is to bring more tax dollars into Brooklyn. The way to do that is to bring wealthier people in. A majority of those people are part of the majority of Americans.

A better solution would be if crown heights would be rezoned for ten story apartment buildings and house owners sold their homes to developers in return for ownership of a multi floor condo and all the new condos that were built could be subsidized rent for the friends of the previous owner. The developers could easily make a profit. And more housing could be available. The best would be if it was structured like buildings in Israel where each apartment has a small “backyard.”

6.Appalled by the racism! wrote:

I’m white. Earn way too much BARUCH HASHEM for S8, yet $5,700 to little for the affordable apartments that were recently up for bids near Crown Heights.
If i was black, that would be racial discrimination. Since I’m white, it’s not?
Pure stupidity. Either you meet the income requirements or you don’t. It has nothing to do with the color of your skin. Just like crime has bottom by to do with the color of your skin.
It all has everything to do with growing up in a culture that says if you a colored you are entitled, and if you don’t get what you want then just yell alot and shoot or stab people till you get what you want.
Like I said, pure STUPIDITY.

7.Moishe pipek wrote:

That is true at the same token that is what is needed to balance the neighborhood The major problem is that r white or non whites who in the lower income will get hurt because it will cause rents to rise. .

8.Moishe pipek wrote:

9.To milhouse and shlomo wrote:

They are not referring to us yidden. It is very obvious They are referring to the hipsters. We originally come from a land that always had olive, brown and black people just look at a map. My mishpacha comes all colors.

10.Milhouse wrote:

Who cares who they’re referring to? Either way it’s racism. If it was OK for black people to move in 50 years ago then it must be just as OK for white people to move in now, and for someone to say that this is a bad thing should not be tolerated.

11.REVERSE DISCRIMINATION wrote:

THIS IS BLATANT BIGOTRY. ANTI-JEWISH AND ANTI-WHITE DISCRIMINATION. THIS ARTICLE AND A SIMILAR ARTICLE IN “KINGS COUNTY POLITICS” HAS GOV. COUMO,YVETTE CLARK , AND OTHER ELECTED OFFICIALS CALLING TO CHANGE THE ORIGINAL CONTRACT IN ORDER TO “COUNTERACT THE GENTRIFICATION ( I WOULD CALL IT THE CIVILIZATION ) OF OUR AREA”. tHE AFFORDABLE HOUSING AND 65,000 ST. FT. SPORTS ARENA IS NOT ENOUGH. THEY WANT ALL BLACK AND ALL LOW INCOME HOUSING.
WHERE ARE OUR LEADERS ?? THE ONLY TIME WE SEE OR HEAR FROM THEM IS WHEN THEY CAN GET A PHOTO-OP. WHERE ARE THOSE THAT ARE SUPPOSEDLY SO CLOSE TO COUMO? WHY COULDNT THIS PROJECT BE UNDER OUR CONTROL ? THIS WILL UNFORTUNATELY BE CATASTROPHIC TO OUR NEIGHBORHOOD.

12.Resident wrote:

Friends, just as we are being pushed out from the hipsters so are the African community . One of my neighbors told me , ” hey I thought your protected because your Jewish?!” How to explain to him that the same yoeli that bought the building and wants him out couldn’t care to rent to me as a fellow Jew?????????? This is just bad news this armory . We ALL suffer from it !! It’s not good for us either if hipsters come here WAKE UP